The father, stepmother and older brother of a 12-year-old Utah boy have been arrested on suspicion of starving and beating the child “over a period of several years,” leading to his death from total organ failure earlier this month.
Authorities first reported the boy’s death on July 9, saying that Weber County Sheriff’s Office officers responded to the family’s West Haven home at 2:30 p.m. that afternoon because a medical emergency call had been initiated regarding the child.
When officers arrived, the boy was unresponsive. Family members assisted in resuscitating him, authorities said. The boy was then taken by ambulance to a local hospital, where he died.
“The Weber County Sheriff’s Office would like to extend its sincere condolences to the family. Our thoughts and prayers are with them as they grieve this loss,” the office said in a statement at the time, noting that authorities were investigating the cause of the child’s death.
On Thursday, the sheriff’s office confirmed that the boy’s death was being ruled a homicide and announced the arrest of relatives in connection with the case.
The boy’s father, Shane Peterson, 46, was booked into the Weber County Jail on Wednesday and charged Friday with one count of involuntary manslaughter by child abuse, two counts of aggravated child abuse and one count of child endangerment, court records show.
Nichole Scott, the child’s 50-year-old stepmother, was booked into jail the same day and arraigned Friday on one count of involuntary manslaughter by child abuse, two counts of aggravated child abuse, two counts of obstruction of justice and one count each of child endangerment and possession of a controlled substance.
The boy’s 21-year-old brother, Tyler Peterson, was also arrested on Thursday. He was charged later Friday with involuntary manslaughter by child abuse, two counts of aggravated child abuse and obstruction of justice.
The sheriff’s office did not release the name of the deceased child, but a GoFundMe campaign to help with funeral expenses following the boy’s death identified him as Gavin Peterson.
The campaign organizer described herself as the sister of Gavin’s mother, whose custody of Gavin has varied since he was a child, court documents show. The organizer wrote that Gavin was a “happy child” whose favorite color was blue and who loved science and Pokemon.
“My sister is doing what no mother should do: burying her 12-year-old son,” the page says. An attempt to reach the organizer on Friday afternoon was not immediately unsuccessful.
School staff had reported suspected abuse
(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Weber County Sheriff Complex, which houses the county jail. The father, stepmother and older brother of a 12-year-old Utah boy were all booked into the facility without bail this week after abusing him for “several years,” according to authorities, leading to his death.
Gavin was severely malnourished when officers arrived for the medical call on July 9, authorities said Thursday.
According to the father’s charging documents, someone in the house called 911 after the boy suffered from vomiting and seizures for several days without medical attention.
The child’s stepmother and older brother gave differing statements to authorities, according to the father’s charging documents. The woman told authorities the boy was conscious when she found him covered in vomit in his room.
She then said she helped him into the shower and left the bathroom, but returned when she heard a loud noise and found him unconscious. She said she tried to revive him by splashing water on his face and performing CPR, the court document said.
The boy’s 21-year-old brother told authorities that Gavin was already unconscious when he was found in his bedroom.
The investigation into Gavin’s death revealed a “pattern of abuse spanning several years,” according to a document explaining the probable cause for his relatives’ arrest.
On Friday, the Weber School District said in a statement that officials had only recently been notified of the former student’s “tragic death.”
The statement said the boy had previously attended an elementary school in the district but was removed from school in August 2023, at the beginning of the final school year, “by a guardian who had completed a homeschooling affidavit.”
“This essentially ended our contact with the student and stripped the district of any authority regarding his education,” the statement continued.
The district further noted that due to student privacy laws and the ongoing criminal investigation, officials could not disclose details about his educational experiences while enrolled in the district.
However, officials said school employees suspected abuse and neglect and filed “multiple complaints” regarding the child with the Utah Division of Child and Family Services. The district did not specify how many complaints were filed and referred them to child protective services for more details and results.
“The district is currently offering support to teachers and school staff affected by this terrible tragedy,” the statement continued. “The death of a student can have a profound impact on those who knew him and were involved in his education.”
The district noted that counselors are also available to students who may be struggling.
“We will also look for opportunities to support and mentor other family members of this student who may have ties to our district,” the statement concluded.
Photos and texts suggest that the boy was locked in the room
Authorities believe the boy was abused for years, based in part on evidence found on relatives’ cell phones, the probable cause document says.
Photos found on the stepmother’s phone showed the boy locked in a room with no carpet, bedding or blankets and monitored by multiple cameras, the document said.
Some photos showed wounds on the boy’s back. Others showed the child “wearing only a diaper and covered in feces,” the document said.
In text messages between the three accused family members, they discussed how they watched the boy on camera, starved him and beat him, the document says. The texts also revealed that the boy was not fed at times or was only given a piece of bread and mustard to eat.
According to evidence, relatives deleted some of the text conversations on the day they called authorities.
Investigators also found drugs in the home, which led to charges of possession of controlled substances against the boy’s stepmother.
All three relatives remain in the Weber County Jail and are unable to post bail.
According to court records, the child’s parents divorced in 2013 when Gavin was still a toddler. Custody was initially split between both parents, but after his mother was arrested in 2014 for allegedly leaving Gavin unsupervised and police later discovered she had drugs in the house, his father was awarded sole custody. She was later found guilty of allowing a child to come into contact with controlled substances, a third-degree felony.
In 2016, as the mother’s probation period approached, During that time, a judge again changed Gavin’s custody agreement, giving his father primary custody while his mother was given custody for weekends, summer vacations and holidays, court records show. Further details about the custody agreement before his death were not immediately available.
“These types of cases are extremely difficult to handle and investigate,” the Weber County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
The agency also said it was grateful for the “countless hours” investigators had worked on the case.
